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The most realistic pinball sim I've ever played.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 36 / 36
Date: November 14, 1999
Author: Amazon User

I've played 4 of the machines, in real life and the simulations are awesome clones of the REAL thing. While young I was lucky enough to learn alot of pinball playing Spirit of 76, and there's no almost no difference. Cue Ball Wizard, the most current game, is lacking a simple way to hit the right ramp shot (the real game has a VERY easy ramp shot). Otherwise, the old games are entertaining, with different generations remembering one table or another.

The absolute BEST Pinball CD for your computer...so far!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 33 / 33
Date: November 07, 1999
Author: Amazon User

Since Gottlieb has been known at the "cadillac" of the pinball industry, it is only fitting that this CD contains Premier/Gottlieb games.

The realistic action, features and sounds make it a wonderful addition to a CD game library.

That's coming from someone who has been in the commercial side of the coin operated amusement industry since 1975!

The only thing missing is changing light bulbs and waxing the playfield!

This is a great CD and a great place to start playing pinball on CD rom....Have fun!

Disappointing. There much better pinball games out there.

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 25 / 30
Date: February 04, 2000
Author: Amazon User

I thought the idea was a good one... you get to play reproductions of influential pinball games throughout pinball history. However, I have to say that the execution left a lot to be desired.

The ball physics is very poor, and the animation was way too choppy (I have a fast machine, and the other pinball games played much more smoothly). I found myself instantly frustrated with the lack of control I had over the ball and gave up playing it after just an hour.

I'm a pinball fan, and spent the last couple of months buying pinball games and trying them out. Microsoft Pinball arcade scores near the bottom of the list. If you want a great pinball game, get "Pro Pinball: Timeshock" instead. "Addiction Pinball" was also pretty good, and "Full Tilt 2" wasn't bad, but all of them beat this lame program hands down.

Bottom line: I had high hopes for Microsoft Pinball Arcade, and it let me down. Big time.

Just Like I Rembered It

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 16 / 16
Date: February 24, 2000
Author: Amazon User

When I was a kid, my Dad bought my brother a slightly used pinball machine for us to play. Who would have known "Humpty Dumpty" would be a classic?

Starting from age 6 through high school I logged literally thousands of hours playing Humpty Dumpty. So I would consider myself somewhat of an expert on the look and feel of playing that game.

Microsoft nailed it right down to the sound of the buzzers and how the balls behave (including being able to sneak the ball backwards up one of the chutes just like the real thing). It is spooky.

OK. Its annoying that I can't nudge the way I want to, I keep trying to push on my keyboard. Instead you nudge with keys. But I've been able to tilt the game pretty much the way I used to :-)

For a real pinball wizards this might not be the real thing, but it sure feels close to me. And I have a lot of fun playing it.

Here there be PINBALL!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 17 / 18
Date: December 22, 1999
Author: Amazon User

Microsoft Pinball Arcade is the most successful marriage of today's personal computer technology with the experience of playing pinball. Working in conjunction with Gottlieb, one of the world's leading pinball machine makers, the legendary "TETRIS" design team recreates 7 Gottlieb tables, ranging from the passive tabletop "Baffle Ball" to the rowdy, rootin', tootin' "Cueball Wizard". In between, the player can try Gottlieb's first (and thus, not-too-well-thought-out) flipper game "Humpty Dumpty", the animated "Knockdown" (complete with a tiny boxer who hits the mat), "Slick Chick" which MUST hold the record for most bumpers on a single table (9 of 'em), the Bicentennial-themed "Spirit of 76" and the first 3-level playfield game "Haunted House".

The designers have addressed well such items as scorekeeping and the presentation of an uncluttered view. Instead of a scrolling playfield, which induces motion sickness in your humble critic, Pinball Arcade presents a fixed perspective view of each playfield. Incredibly detailed graphics, all the way down to ball and playfield reflections, give the impression, at times, that you're watching a real pinball machine on a TV screen, not a computer simulated one on a monitor. Score counters are placed in unobtrusive parts of the screen. Completing the experience are the actual sounds of these historic machines, from the gentle "ping" of the tiny spheres in "Baffle Ball" lazily bouncing off of a pin to the nonstop banter ("You sure need that ramp shot!") and background music in "Cueball Wizard".

Microsoft Pinball Arcade is the most stunning example of how well today's PCs can recreate the look and feel of yesterday's pinball machines. Let's hope a Williams collection is in the works! :)

Not bad for what it is, but...

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 10 / 10
Date: March 30, 2000
Author: Amazon User

This isn't a bad pinball package at all, but it's definitely not the best available (for that, refer to the Pro Pinball series).

The games are faithfully rendered on-screen, and look and sound just like the originals. The gameplay itself, on the other hand, can be a bit choppy in places compared to the Pro Pinball engine. Cue Ball Wizard, in particular, is very difficult to play -- the sharp angle at which you view the table doesn't help. (If only they'd allowed you to view the tables from different angles...)

The earlier games provide a nifty sense of history for the pinball genre -- but are often not that much fun to play. The novelty may wear off relatively quickly for those used to today's tables.

Well worth a look -- and...it's not a bad value just for the nostalgia factor. If you want a great game as well as a history lesson, however, look to the Pro Pinball games.

As Real as it gets.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 8
Date: July 04, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Along with the Pro Pinball series, This may be the best pinball simulation available for the PC.

However, where the Pro Pinball series of games only contain one table, and are typically modeled after 90's era machines. None of the Pro Pinball machines ever existed.

Microsoft, however brings us 7 machines in Pinball Arcade that ACTUALLY existed.

Now for those young folks to whom "Video Modes", Ramps, and complex scoring schemes, are blase' you may find that this collection isn't for you.

However for those of us born in the 60's or earlier, or Electro-Magnetic Pinball junkies you won't find a more enjoyable collection.

The sounds and action on each of the tables is shockingly realistic. In many cases, I forget I'm not playing an actual machine.

From the 30's, Baffle ball is actually a precursor to pinball. Like the little pinball games of your childhood, the object is not to "keep" the ball in play, but by using proper force on the plunger and nudging, try to maximize your score for 10 balls.

From the 40's, Humpty Dumpty, looks more traditional, but the object still is not to keep the ball in play, but rather use the "flippers to direct the ball to higher scoring regions. This game has most of the recognizable features of pinball but again emphesis is on positioning the ball, not keeping it in play.

From the 50's Knockout is a cute machine with a neat boxing ring in the center. The object to knockdown your opponent as many times as you can. Here the flippers are in the traditional orientation, but there is a "bar" at the mammoth exit hole that gives you virtual invunerability for a time. Once a certain score is achieved for the ball, the bar drops, and your ability to keep the ball in play for an extended time is very limited.

From the 60's Pinball now has most of the components many of us recognize. Thumper Bumpers, Rollovers, roll over buttons. Slick Chick does not have any side exits, but makes up for that with a farily wide center hole, and an insidious "gobble hole" in the center of the playing field.

From the 70's, Spirit of 76 is the archtypical 70's era pinball machine. The flippers have grown to be larger and more powerful. A trio of Thumper Bumpers in the center really can accelerate the ball. 8 Knockdown targets and multiple rollovers exist. The sound effects on this table are spot on, and is easily my favorite.

From the 80's Haunted House. In reality, this table was extra wide sporting two pairs of flippers at the bottom. The table was the first to incorporate a 3 level design with an "upstairs", Main Floor, and "Basement" beneath the main table seen through clear plexiglass on the main table. It was also one of the first machines to use LED's for scoring. This game is fun, but the need to have an unobstructed view of the "basement" makes the table feel bare, as all the scoring opportunities are on the perimeter of the table

From the 90's, Cue Ball Wizard is the typical chatterbox Pinball machine with ramps, elevated ball "tubes" and very complex scoring modes, designed to force the player to aim his shots. Unlike earlier tables, it's not just keeping the ball in play, but getting through all the modes that get's the Big Points.

As this game was developed in 1998, there should be no problem getting the game to run smothly on a current machine. All these tables are rather challenging and can lead to rather short games. It's a shame that you don't have configuration menu that allows you to set number of balls per game, and replay scores, as you would be able to do owning a REAL pinball machine. However, it seems here that Microsoft here is attempting to simulate how it is to play these machines in an Arcade, even down to the point of having you insert money into the machines to play.

Real Pinball machines can cost thousands of dollars, and especially older machines, often have worn out components that are hard to find or replace.

Microsoft Pinball gives you 7 accurate pinball machines in your PC, and you never have to worry about replacing a light bulb, or Flipper relay.

Classic pinball at it's best

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: December 23, 1999
Author: Amazon User

Think of the room you save by not having 7 full size machines in your house! Plus you get the chance to play on machines that are not that common. Spirit of 76 is a blast, Control keys can be customized... My only complaint is that the "TILT" is very touchy :)

The Ultimate Pinball Game!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: March 16, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Let's see... A real pinball table cost anywhere from [$$$$] to [$$$$]. So, I would say that you are getting your moneys worth with Microsoft Pinball Arcade wich has seven classic Gottlieb pinball machines.

I have had this game for over a year now, and my family and I play it several times a week. I can honestly say that this game offers the best artwork, realistic sounds effects, ramps, multiball and traps of any other pinball game out on the market. There is a high score section for each of the seven tables, you can costomize your keyboard, joystick and game pad controls, and you can also control the volume of the background theme music or the tables sound effects.

No, they are not real pinball machines... But Microsoft got as close as they could to the real thing. A must buy for anyone who enjoys pinball and wants a more realistic feel.

Microsoft Gets One Right

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: November 06, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I began playing pinball back in the 1960s and always liked the Gottlieb machines the best. Microsoft has done a fantastic job of simulating these games, right down to the glare off the glass and the sounds of the EM components coming to life. No detail has been overlooked. The flippers even make that electric buzzing noise if you hold down the buttons. Incredible!

Game play is smooth and realistic. There are a few quirks -- the ramp shot on Cue Ball Wizard is almost impossible with the left flipper and the machines tilt too easily, but these are minor complaints. If you don't have a lot of space, this game is a perfect way to have a bunch of pinball machines in your basement.

My only complaint is that the CD has such a limited number of games. With the exception of Knock Out, the early designs are interesting from a historical perspective, but not that much fun to play repeatedly. I'd like to see a "Best of Gottlieb" CD with about fifty more games from the Golden Era of pinball.

I'd also like to see the same quality applied to some of the old games produced by Chicago Coin, Bally, and Williams. A lot of the old pinball games are disappearing and it would be nice to see them preserved for posterity. New generations should get the chance to play games like El Dorado and 8-Ball Deluxe!

And why stop there?

I'd love to see Microsoft recreate some of the golden oldies with the same attention to detail. Games like Jet Rocket, S.A.M.I., Stunt Pilot, or Bally's old soccer game would be a blast.

But with that said, hats off to Microsoft for putting out a top notch CD.

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